Punk Rocker Turned Artist Explores the Cost of Modern Day Life

Canadian-based artist and graphic designer, Andy Dixon makes bright colored (mostly pink) paintings that have a luxurious feel to them. But long before he took to painting, Dixon dominated Vancouver’s punk scene, singing and playing guitar in various bands, including D.B.S. and the Red Light Sting.

“I think 16-year-old Andy would be bewildered by where I am now,” said the artist, in an interview with Nuvo magazine. “It’s a bit like I’m betraying my punk rock roots. In the ’90s, doing anything for money was the original sin.”

In sheer contrast, his canvases are now dominated with status symbols such as Lamborghinis and Nike trainers. “He borrows context from Renaissance art and past masters, reinterpreting and redefining them in the contemporary world,” explained his gallery manager, Rebecca Smith, of Beers London, the U.K.

His thematic focus on luxury goods, he says, stems from an interest in the psychology of value. “Why things cost what they do, what is money, and why are we drawn to stuff. I think money is funny. The work isn’t a moral stance at all, more of an exploration of the comedy of it.”